Foreigners should be in possession of a valid national internal or foreign
passport for entry and exit from Russia.

2. Visas

Foreigners can enter or leave Russia or travel by transit through Russia
with or without a visa. Visas for entry and exit from Russia are issued
by Russian Consulates and Consular Departments of Russian Embassies abroad.
To obtain a visa, the following documents should be presented to the Consular
Office:

- a letter from the travel agency and a copy of MBV confirming the booking
of tourist services to secure a tourist visa.

- a ticket or a voucher for a ticket with confirmed dates and itinerary
of transit travel trough Russia, as well as a letter from the travel agency
with MBV confirmation of services provided on arrival and departure, transfer
and excursions in the points reserved by the client to secure a transit
visa.

- a written invitation from an organisation or relatives (friends), located
or residing in Russia to get an ordinary visa.

The above mentioned documents should be presented in advance to the Russian
Consulate in your country in accordance with the rules established by
them.

2.1. For transit through Russia en route to and from Armenia, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadzhikistan and Usbekistan foreigners
should be in possession of a valid visa for travel to one of the above
mentioned states.

2.2. For transit through Russia en route to and from Lithuania, Latvia,
Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and other foreign
states, foreigners should in possession of a transit visa for both parts
of the journey. Such transit visas are issued by the Russian Consulates
to travellers possessing a valid visa to the abore mentioned countries,
unless no other formalities are observed by inter-state agreements.

2.3. No visa is required for foreign tourists travelling as cruise passengers
on board foreign ships or ships registered in Russian ports and going
ashore in Russian ports if they are in possesion of a valid national,
international or foreign passport, and on condition that:

- the stop in the port of call does not exceed 48 hours

- travellers stay overnight on board the cruise ship and leave port on
board the same ship.

2.4. Visas for entry to the states of the former USSR can be obtained
in Consular Offices of the newly independent states abroad or through
the embassies of these states in Moscow. More detailed information on
visa requirements can be obtained in Consular Offices of Russia abroad.

Climate

Average temperatures (Centigrade) in places of tourist’s itineraries:

City

January

July

Moscow

–15

+22

Kostroma

–12

+20

Almaty

–10

+26

Irkutsk

–23

+20

Archangelsk

–15

+18

St. Petersburg

–12

+22

Tashkent

+3

+30

Kiev

–9

+23

Novosibirsk

–23

+22

Odessa

–7

+25

Vladimir

–15

+20

Khabarovsk

–18

+23

Time

There are 12 times zones in Russia. The difference between Greenwich
Mean Time and the time in some Russian cities is: Moscow and St. Petersburg
+3.

National Holidays

New Year

January 1

Russian Orthodox Christmas

January 7

Women’s Day

March 8

Spring and Labour Day

May 1–2

Victory Day

May 9

Russia Independence Day

June 12

Currency

The Russian monetary unit is rouble. There is no limit to the amount
of foreign currency allowed to be brought into Russia. All money brought
into Russia (including traveler’s checks) must be declared upon entering
the country. In Russia tourists can exchange any amount of hard currency
for roubles in hotels, international airports and sea ports, at any exchange
office of authorized Russian banks. Exchange rates are set by authorized
Russian banks within Russia. It is prohibited to take roubles out of Russia.

Mail & Telephone Services

The tariff for postal service and international and local telephone service
on the territory of Russia is roubles. Major hotels have post office facilities.
Automatic dial telephone service is available in most areas of Russia.
Tourists can dial directly from their room phone in the hotel or from
special pay phones in the lobby.

Transport

Metro is the most comfortable and fastest means of public transport within
the city. The Moscow metro network has over 140 stations, the total length
of lines covering about 215 kilometres. The transport fare for all metro
lines in any city is one token. You can purchase a token at the entrance
of all metro stations. Buses, trolley buses and trams operate on the ticket
system.